For Nick Maxwell, the defender about to enter his fifth season as skipper, the best part of Beams' elevation from a wayward footballer to midfield star and now aspiring leader was that the young man was the driving force throughout.

''It's a credit to him. He went through some tough times on and off the field and he's put his head down and worked his backside off and gained so much respect from the whole group and from the whole competition,'' Maxwell said.

''The thing that stands out for me is that he wants to be a leader and that's the hardest point. You see these guys and you see the influence they have and you've got to try to convince them that they're good enough to lead the football club and they can be a real good influence.

''But Dayne put his hand up and wants to be a leader. That's the best part of it for me.''

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Beams is a deputy vice-captain for 2013 with Luke Ball, behind Maxwell and vice-captain Scott Pendlebury, and as one who has made the jump to elite class, hopes he has a cautionary tale for younger Magpies.

''When you come to a club as a young player you don't really understand what it takes to perform at a high level consistently,'' he said.

''That was my problem from the get-go. I'd play a couple of good games and I'd play a bad game. It was something I looked at at the end of my third year (2011) and wanted to be more consistent as a player and as a person. I sorted a few things out and learnt from guys who do it well at the club. That's how I've approached my footy the past year.''

The absence of Travis Cloke, Dale Thomas, Harry O'Brien and Heath Shaw from Collingwood's leadership group from last year means for a more traditional set-up at the pointy end, although coach Nathan Buckley expected all players to have an influence on their teammates.

Beams, who turns 23 next week, said he saw himself as a link between the recent draftees and the club's established players.

''I think the younger guys probably look up to me a little bit, more because they can relate to me than say the older guys, who are getting on a bit,'' he said.

Maxwell said Collingwood's biggest challenge this year was raising standards back to those of the 2010 premiership year, but said he felt no need to address a recent report of drug use among Magpies players last year.

''We've got standards that we hold each other to and the best thing about the past couple of months is that we've really started to hold each other to account a lot more on everything,'' he said.